Names...don't laugh!

A man interviews some people for a job. A very beautiful woman enters first and the boss asks her:
“What’s your name?”
“Lily,” says the woman.
“Why Lily?” asks the boss.
“Because when I was born, a lily fell on me from the sky.”

Then enters a second woman, more beautiful than the first.....
“What’s your name?” asks the boss.
“Rose,” says the woman.
“Why Rose?” asks the boss.
“Because when I was born, a rose fell on me from the sky.”

Then enters the third man, hideously ugly......
“What’s your name?” asks the boss.
“Piano,” says the man.
pic by Xae-Xae

Sometimes I wonder if parents really give careful thought when naming their children. I have come across Chinese names that would make the poor child a laughing stock in school. Chinese names, when pronounced in Mandarin or other Chinese dialect would sound lovely, but when pronounced by a non Chinese-speaking person, would just make everyone burst out in laughter.

Ker Sing (as in 'cursing')
See Fatt (Cantonese for ‘buttocks’ )
Swee Ting (such a ‘sweet thing’)
Shit Yee (you get the idea…)

Also very popular are names of fruits:

Apple
Orange
Strawberry
Hmm…I wonder if anyone is named Durian?

I have some friends with rather unusual English names:

Janex
Clyster
Aclyn

Also worth mentioning are combinations of English name and Chinese surname which become rather amusing:

Ada Looi = have money (‘ada’ in Bahasa Malaysia = ‘have’ ; ‘looi’ in Cantonese = ‘money’)
Michael Tan = sell eggs (sounds like ‘mai kai tan’ in Cantonese)
Summer Tan – well, this speaks for itself

I have met a little boy who used to introduce himself like this:
“Hi, I’m Michael, and meet my brother, Jackson.” And they could even dance!
There was also another tough looking pre-schooler I met named Rambo…it’s a name which would either bring fame or ridicule to the little fella!

I used to dislike my given Chinese name (pronounced 'ching' but my friends called me 'cacing' - Malay word for 'worm') until my mom told me its meaning…it actually means ‘clarity’ but my mom says it means ‘evergreen’ when paired with another Chinese character (everyone loves to stay young always, right?) Looking at the wrinkles appearing on my face now, I sure hope I live up to my name!